Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Enven did not comply with a Monday deadline from the U.S. Department of Justice to turn over voter information, including partial Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers, due to a lawsuit, according to an office spokeswoman.
Evnen’s office, however, did not say whether or not he had planned to comply with the federal order.
“Today we were notified that a lawsuit has been filed seeking to prevent the disclosure of the information requested in the Sept. 8 letter from the U.S. Department of Justice. Our office has not provided any information in response to the Sept. 8 letter,” Rani Taborek-Potter, Evnen’s spokeswoman, said.
Common Cause, a national advocacy group with a chapter in Nebraska, and Nebraska resident Dawn Essink filed the suit Monday morning in Lincoln, naming Evnen to prevent him from sharing the voter information.
“Unelected bureaucrats in Washington have no business accessing every Nebraskans’ sensitive personal information. Not now, not ever,” said Gavin Geis, Common Cause Nebraska Executive Director, in a press release. Omar Noureldin, Common Cause Senior Vice President for Policy and Litigation, added “This push for voter data is part of the Trump administration’s broader playbook — using government power to target communities instead of protecting them.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon asked for the voter information to assess Nebraska’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, according to her Sept. 8 letter to Evnen. The DOJ has asked about 30 states for similar information. Some have complied, some have refused and some have been sued for refusing. Officials have cited the split between federal and state authority, along with concerns about the Trump administration building a database of voters to target political opponents or amplify cases of noncitizen voting.
Evnen’s office last week stated it consulted the state Attorney General’s office for advice about sharing information. Evnen’s predecessor John Gale declined a request for voter information from President Donald Trump’s first administration.
“Nebraska law prevents Secretary Evnen from acquiescing to the federal government’s demands. Under current law, local and state election officials are prohibited from disclosing a voter’s birth date, driver’s license information, or social security number,” the suit states. Essink and Common Cause say they object to their “highly-sensitive voter data” from being disclosed.
Civic Nebraska, an organization that promotes community engagement and voter rights, raised alarm about the letter last week, publishing an article that states Evnen’s compliance would lead to a higher risk for identity theft, erode personal privacy, make people less likely to register to vote and help set a precedent for similar or broader requests from the government and politicization of voter data.
Nebraska maintains a list of registered voters, which is available for $500 and may only be used for specific political, government and law enforcement activities. People may withhold their contact information and addresses from the list, which doesn’t include Social Security numbers.
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